Lugnaquilla zig zag route closed due to assault by dog owner

This doesn’t surprise me. The level of arrogance and sense of entitlement of some walkers is astonishing. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen people with dogs on land with very visible “no dogs “ signs. Or off lead when it says “dogs on leads only”. Or parking ignorantly and leaving their litter. Part of the problem is that the chance of getting caught is very small, as farmers have more to be doing than patrolling their fields. So they depend on peoples’ own cop on. But that seems to be in short supply. I hope the low life is prosecuted..and that other landowners don’t feel they have to block access to the beautiful places we love to hike.

Labradors are big powerful dogs and I wouldn't call them cuddly.

Ignorance is not an excuse. Next time the farmer will be out with a rifle.

In your opinion and as for your second point which has no bearing on the comment no farmer will be rushing anywhere with a rifle.

Before your expected response. I don't think dogs should be anywhere near a working farm on or off lead.

Shame to see Pat Dunne have to suffer the ignorance of some individuals, I'm sure this is just the first of many instances.

Also dogs cause the same issues with wildlife not just farm animals, especially during breeding season.

It's easy to forget about wildlife. And people are getting more and more dogs.

"Worry" is a stupid word too. It does not describe the damage and harm being done.

The landowner seemed to be a very tolerant accommodating man in the interview on RTE. He had overlooked a number of incidents where he was verbally abused (on his own property). But there’s only so much you can put up with. I think most people would support his decision to cut off access, even though it’s a huge loss to the hiking and the local community.

Saw someone's big black 'fur baby' attacking a sheep, pulling and dragging it around like it was a rag doll a few years back. If I hadn't shooed it off the sheep was done for.

Not a stray either, he had a nice red collar on. 'Ah but my doggo wouldn't harm a fly...etc'

People really have gone soft in the head over their furry replacement children these last few years.

Not at all surprised at this I have been walking all my life in Ireland and it's only in the last decade this sense of entitlement had got so bad I regularly see people with dogs on walks where they have to pass signs that say no dogs

I was on croagh Patrick last year and saw several people with mutts and it is very clearly signposted no dogs but what can you do people just don't care and if you challenge them all you get is abuse I'm afraid it's again the few rule breakers that are going to ruin it for the rest of us I predict we will now see more landowners closing off access and who could blame them

Such a pity

Other countries, esp in Scandinavia, have a right to roam and don't need to be policed, because people actually behave themselves like adults.

But not us. No.

Dogs are wildlife. We need to introduce some predators for them.

A bit of a knee-jerk reaction IMHO. Setting up of trail cctv to identify the suspects would be a better step.

The sad part is is that this <mod snip> is going to still find ways of walking the dogs up there and it is only the law-abiding hikers that are being punished.

Its Ireland - theres a healthy disrespect for rules.

Like with the Bray - Greystones cliffpath, a sign saying a route is closed.. it doesnt work.

People still climb over the gate, with kids too.

This man needs to secure his property, put in a big mesh gate, backed up with a few big fridges to block it fully.

There are sheep killed every week by dogs off leashes. Often 10 or 20 at a time, the surviving sheep are never good again after the ordeal.

A very simple solution. Pure simple.

Such as?

Here I've seen the remains of parties at beaches incl broken bottles. Broken bottles. On a f**king beach.

Campsites in national parks, rubbish strewn all around, whatever about it not being allowed and the risk of a wildfire, zero effort at cleaning it up.

Tourist towns, during school hols and good weather, pavements are plastered afterwards with dog sh1t. Bagged and unbagged dog sh1t going in and out with the tide.

A layby where people just fcuked their rubbish over the ditch, there was a calf in there, chewing on a dirty nappy.

A way marked trail up a mountain. Someone brought a coffee cup up with them and just left it after them, and not just dropped it, purposefully shoved it into a hollow in the moss in the forest.

This boils my piss. We are a lazy shiftless race.

Who would have taken that? Don't look like no 'traveller' anyway as alleged above here. Just some pig ignorant thicko.

There was a proposed new footpath very near where I live one of the things the farmers were told was if they allowed the footpath they would have to have insurance to cover it. If the state covered it fine but why pay to allow people to use your land?